[CW] Grounding on Vibroplex Deluxe Keys

[D.J.J. Ring, Jr.]

Yes, you're correct! Give that man a double scoop of ice cream, whatever
flavor he wants!  You strike me as a guy who would order one scoop of rum
raisin and the other of peppermint stick ice cream. (It's a good
combination.)

Remember the contact on the dot contact post is "hot" and a ground return
must be provided by the other end of the dot contact spring (Joe's answer -
which is correct) - but is it a good contact? And what is the return path?

The only ground return is via the dot tension spring which has a small loop
at the end.  This little loop attaches dot lever tension adjusting screw
the end of which that is towards the key is specially fashioned and cast
into a "point" at the end so it can stick into the little loop in the
conical dot tension spring, and (worse even) the other end of the conical
dot contact spring where it attaches to the lever of the Vibroplex bug has
a stiff tinned wire soldered to it and that stiff tinned wire is pushed
into a drilled hole in the lever but unfortunately since the lever has to
move, the drilled hole cannot be tight, it has to allow the stiff wire
attached to the dot contact spring to move even though it moves only maybe
10 degrees back and forth as dots are produced. But all of these ground
return connections are "iffy" - the vibrations of the vibirator often cause
the stiff wire NOT to make good contact with the lever which means that the
keying can be defective. The little braid that was there before 1980 on
Vibroplex keys avoided this problem.

This is why I tell people wanting a Vibroplex semi-automatic key to get the
Standard version, not the new Deluxe version, but to get an
old 1960s vintage Deluxe semiautomatic Vibroplex.  (The I1QOD
semi-automatic key has a braid and has excellent functionality!)

73
DR
N1EA


On Tue, Jan 11, 2022 at 1:36 AM Joseph L. Pontek Sr. <v31jp1957 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> The pendulum return spring provides a return ground. If the junction of
> that
> spring's tension screw gets dirty or the that post that goes through the
> bar
> gets dirty, either, it loses the good ground path.
>
> I have used de-soldering wick braid after using flux remover for the braid.
> It is not tinned nor is the original braid. The non-bar end without a spade
> just put under the yoke base. There is no way to run that braid through the
> base. I just looked at one of mine I have here and the braid is not tinned,
> just copper and quite long, thus very flexible.
>
> If I remember correctly, the pan head screw was a #3, I do not remember
> thread number. I had acquired the tape & die set, but they are in Belize
> and I think I bought some screws, as well.
>
> 73, Joe, K8JP/K5
>
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